Ah Brain, that's some good info. So I got some questions...
Isn't the current "academy standard" 2.35:1? And isn't that just a suggestion with filmmakers pretty much free to do what they want?
Somehow I have this impression that most features are shot and projected at 2.35:1. I kinda take that as a given; know of any significant percentage that are not?
Here's something that I'm curious about; I saw the final SW in a theater, so I'm sure it's 2.35:1. Shown last weekend on cable, yup, letterboxed. But I watched War of the World's (Spielbarg) from a DVD this week and it played 16:9 on a 16:9 TV (full frame if you would<g>). I.e. no letter boxing. Guess what it made me think? They are doing pan & scan to go from 2.35:1 to 1.78:1!
Of course, that assumes that film was 2.35:1 to start with. Never saw it in theaters... anyone know the scoop?
Lastly, I'm not 100% sure I completely understand "anamorphic." What I THINK is that it means a anamorphic lens is used in shooting that creates a film frame that is NOT the intended aspect ratio by itself. So on the film, the image would look "thin & tall." It then gets projected (or transferred) through another anamorphic lens that restores the originally intended aspect ratio. That the driving force is money... as in you use less square footage of film by squeezing and unsqueezing. Do I have all that right?
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